


The Desire For Destruction And Creation

by Crimsoncat



Series: I Wrote This For You - A series of prose used as prompts [2]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, happy things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 02:40:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7135226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crimsoncat/pseuds/Crimsoncat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Root slowly dismantles Shaw's walls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Desire For Destruction And Creation

**Author's Note:**

> Holy fuck, guys. The amount of angst in this fandom right now! I love angst as much as the next girl. But it was a bit much after the episode last night. Even for me. After one heart wrenching tumblr gif set too many, I sat down and wrote this. Instead of sleeping, I might add, so please feel free to ignore any typos or errors you may find.
> 
> Takes place early Season 4, before If-Then-Else. 
> 
> The title (and the prose I'm using as a prompt) comes from the I Wrote This For You blog.

**The Desire For Destruction And Creation**  
  
You might not have a wrecking ball but you can still take down a wall one brick at a time.

[\- I Wrote This For You](http://www.iwrotethisforyou.me/)

 

* * *

  
  
Root approached the makeup counter with a bounce in her step and a smile as wide as the sky. Shaw rolled her eyes in response. "What do you want, Root?" Shaw muttered when the perky woman was close enough that she didn't have to shout.  
  
"What, I can't just drop in to say hello?" Root picked up a tube of lipstick and examined the colour.  
  
"No. No you can't." Shaw growled, snatching the lipstick out of Root's hand. Root pouted at her, making Shaw roll her eyes for a second time. "Do we have a new number?"  
  
"Nope." Root responded.  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"You're almost done your shift. I thought we could go to dinner." Root gave her a wink.  
  
"Like a date?" Shaw let out a bark of laughter. "Root.."  
  
"When's the last time you had a good steak?" Root asked quickly. "I don't imagine this place pays well enough for that."  
  
"Yeah, and who's fault is **that**?" Shaw muttered. But she looked like she was considering it. Root was smart enough not to press her advantage. Instead of pushing the matter, she waited patiently.  
  
Shaw released an irritated sigh. "Fine. Whatever. Give me ten minutes." The smile Root gave her was bright enough to rival the sun, and it was almost enough to change Shaw's mind. _Almost_.

 

* * *

  
  
"Yeah? Well, same to you lady!" Shaw shouted at the back of her customer as she stormed away.  
  
The woman had made the mistake of asking what Shaw thought of her blue eye shadow while Shaw was ringing up her purchases. It wasn't Shaw's fault that she looked like an escaped circus clown. And if she didn't want an honest answer then she shouldn't ask strangers for their opinions. That was what friends were for. They were the ones who lied to spare your feelings. That wasn't Shaw's job.  
  
"Oh, perfect." Shaw muttered, noticing the frown her boss was giving her as he headed in her direction. "Just fucking perfect."  
  
A familiar sound caught her attention, and Shaw glanced past her boss. Her favourite person in the world was coming up the aisle towards her. And Root was there, too. The soothing click click clack of dog nails was enough to lift her spirits. Maybe this day wasn't complete shit after all.  
  
"Hello, Sameen." Root smiled at her.  
  
"Root." Shaw gave her a distracted greeting as she came out from behind her makeup counter and knelt beside Bear. "Hey Bear!" Shaw gave his head a good scratch, smiling slightly when he licked her hand in response. "Whatcha doing here, boy?"  
  
"She told me you were having a rough day, so we thought we'd come visit you at work." Root answered for the dog. "Didn't we, Bear?"  
  
Bear glanced up at Root, exhaling a soft "woorf" in apparent agreement.  
  
"The Machine gives you updates on my day?" Shaw arched an eyebrow at Root from her spot on the floor.  
  
"We're headed to the park," Root said, ignoring Shaw's question. "Wanna come?"  
  
Shaw glanced in the direction of her boss. He had been distracted by a customer, and if she wanted to avoid listening to another lecture on customer service this was the best chance she was going to get. "Fuck yes."

* * *

  
  
Shaw woke to the smell of bacon and the sound of soft cursing. She rolled out of bed with an irritated groan. She had been out late dealing with their latest number, and she didn't have to work the makeup counter today. She had been planning on sleeping until noon.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Shaw demanded as she entered her kitchen.  
  
"Good morning to you, too." Root muttered. Shaw frowned at her. Root was cradling her hand against her chest and obviously in pain.  
  
"What'd you do to your hand?"  
  
"Nothing, it's fine."  
  
Shaw rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it looks fine."  
  
"It's just a little burn." Root tried to brush it off, but a wince betrayed her. Shaw turned on the cold water and reached for Root, carefully opening her hand and examining the skin.  
  
"It doesn't look serious." Shaw said after a minute. "Put it under the water. I don't have any ice."  
  
Root did as she was told, and Shaw watched the tension leave her face as the cold water soothed the mild burn. Satisfied that Root would leave her hand under the water for a minute, Shaw turned to the stove to check on the bacon that had lured her from her bed. By the time Root turned off the water the bacon was done and Shaw was turning off the stove.  
  
"I also made eggs and pancakes." Root remarked.  
  
"Yeah?" Shaw turned to face the hacker.  
  
"Yeah." Root offered her a small smile. "I was in the area, thought you could use some breakfast."  
  
Shaw, not distracted by burnt limbs or burning food, got her first real look at Root. And she didn't like what she saw. "You look like shit." Shaw remarked.  
  
"Aw, Sameen." Root sighed dramatically. "You say the sweetest things."  
  
"I'm serious, Root. What the hell does the Machine have you doing?"  
  
"I didn't know you cared." Root smirked at her. Shaw rolled her eyes in response as she moved towards the cupboard.  
  
"Fine, don't tell me." Shaw muttered as she handed Root a plate.

 

* * *

  
  
Shaw groaned as her ear piece chirped in her ear. She had been home for less than five minutes. She hadn't even opened her beer yet. Shaw considered ignoring the call, but only for a second.  
  
"Yeah." Shaw answered.  
  
"Sameen." Root's voice sounded frayed at the edges.  
  
"Root? You ok?" Shaw put her beer on her coffee table and stood up. She was going to grab her guns, but Root's next words stopped her.  
  
"Can you open your door for me?"  
  
"My door?" Shaw blinked and altered her course.  
  
"Yes, please." Root breathed.  
  
Shaw frowned and moved a little faster. She opened the door to find Root leaning against the wall, bleeding all over the place. "What the fuck, Root?" Shaw exclaimed as she moved to help the injured woman into her apartment.  
  
"You should see the other guy." Root managed to give her a weak smile.  
  
Shaw closed and locked the door behind them before helping Root into the bathroom. Root braced herself against the wall while Shaw grabbed her medical supplies from under the sink. The gunshot was in Root's thigh, and with the amount of blood she was losing Shaw was worried the bullet had nicked an artery.  
  
"Take off your jeans." Shaw said as she pulled on a pair of gloves.  
  
"I don't think I can." Root murmured.  
  
Root's lack of any kind of flirty remark made Shaw's frown deepen. She undid the button on Root's jeans and slowly peeled them away from Root's body. A quick exam of the wound once it was exposed eased her concern. The blood flow was already starting to slow down a bit. Shaw decided it was probably the strain of getting to her apartment that had made it bleed so much in the first place. Satisfied that the hacker wasn't going to bleed out in her bathroom, Shaw helped her step out of the jeans and sit on the edge of the bathtub. Shaw cleaned up the bullet hole as carefully as she could while Root rested her head against the wall. Aside from the occasional hiss of pain she didn't say anything.  
  
"You going to tell me what happened?" Shaw asked eventually.  
  
"Samaritan operative got lucky." Root sighed.  
  
"Why didn't you call me?" Shaw exhaled irritably.  
  
"You were working. Ow!" Root flinched as Shaw applied a bit too much pressure.  
  
"That's a really shitty excuse." Shaw muttered. "I could have left sick or something."  
  
Root lifted her head away from the wall. "Are you mad I didn't call you?"  
  
"Am I mad you went off by yourself and now you're bleeding all over my floor?" Shaw tossed her a glare before turning back to the bullet hole.  
  
Root sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll call next time." She offered. Shaw snorted in response as she continued dressing the wound. "No, really. I promise I will."  
  
"You better." Shaw remarked. Root smiled to herself as she went back to leaning on the wall. And by the time Shaw was done with her leg, she had already fallen asleep.

 

* * *

  
  
Root woke up suddenly, her heart racing, unsure of where she was. The last thing she remembered was getting shot. She moved to get out of the bed she was laying in, but a strong arm fell across her waist before she could get too far. Root just about jumped out of her skin.  
  
"Don't. You're going to start it bleeding again." Shaw muttered sleepily.  
  
"Sameen? What.."  
  
"You passed out in the bathroom." Shaw yawned. "The bed was closer than the couch, it was easier to just carry you in here."  
  
"You.. carried me. To your bed." Root couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.  
  
"You don't think I can carry you?" Shaw sounded offended, and more awake. "You weigh next to nothing." Root didn't know what to say to that.  
  
"How's the leg?" Shaw asked.  
  
"It hurts." Root admitted. She was starting to remember getting to Sameen's apartment, and their conversation in the bathroom.  
  
Shaw rolled away and turned on her bedside light. Root flinched away from the sudden brightness, yelping in pain as the movement caused a flash of agony. "I told you not to move." Shaw sounded annoyed, but only mildly. She was up and out of the room before Root could respond.  
  
The light was too far away for Root to turn back off, and trying only made her leg hurt more. So she pulled Shaw's pillow over her head in an attempt to block the worst of the light. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of Shaw's shampoo that lingered on her pillow, and she fell back asleep.  
  
"Here, take these." Shaw's voice woke her.  
  
Root peered out from under Shaw's pillow to find the other woman standing by the bed with a glass of water and a bottle of pills. Root winced when she tried to sit up, and Shaw quickly set the water and pill bottle on the nightstand so she could help. Once Root was settled, Shaw gave her two pain pills and the glass of water. Root swallowed them quickly, eager for the pain in her leg to go away.  
  
"You're going to have to stay off that leg for a few days." Shaw commented as she moved back around to her side of the bed.  
  
"You asking me to move in?" Root joked, wincing a bit as she stretched to put the glass of water on the nightstand.  
  
"At least I'll know you're not out there getting shot again." Shaw grumbled as she turned off the light and got back into bed.  
  
Root had been kidding. She hadn't imagined Shaw was actually asking her to stay there for a few days. She sat frozen in shock until Shaw's voice startled her back to reality. "Do you need help laying back down?"  
  
"Uh." Root blinked in the dark. "Maybe?"  
  
Shaw sighed, but it lacked her usual irritation. Together they managed to get Root laying down, and rolled onto her good side with minimum pain. Something Root appreciated immensely. Shaw made sure she was covered with the blankets before she retreated to her side of the bed to get comfortable. Root listened to her moving around, and waited until she was done to speak.  
  
"Sameen?"  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Shaw rolled towards her, draping her arm back across Root's waist and pressing herself against Root's back. "Go to sleep." Shaw muttered.  
  
Root closed her eyes and tried to will her heart back to a normal rhythm. She was being spooned. By Sameen Shaw. The urge to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming was almost overpowering. She jerked in surprise when Shaw squeezed her tightly.  
  
"Jesus, I can hear you thinking." Shaw yawned. "Stop it."  
  
Root could feel the pain medication starting to take effect, and the world got fuzzy around the edges. "G'night Sam." She yawned. As Root faded into unconsciousness, Shaw's soft reply made her smile.  
  
"Night, Root."

**Author's Note:**

> As always, any comments/criticisms are appreciated. Let me know what you think, please.


End file.
